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Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks about Syria in the South Court Auditorium on the White House Complex in Washington. A CNN documentary about Clinton has been cancelled due to a lack of cooperation from sources.
(Carolyn Kaster | The Associated Press)

Update:ABC now reporting that NBC has cancelled its planned series as well. Late today and NBC spokesman issued this statement:

"After reviewing and prioritizing our slate of movie/mini-series development, we've decided that we will no longer continue developing the Hillary Clinton mini-series."

---Original Story---

Charles Ferguson, the director of CNN's scheduled documentary on Hillary Clinton, a likely Democratic candidate in the 2016 presidential elections, has scrapped the project. He cited a lack of cooperation from sources in both political parties.

He said he approached over 100 people to interview for the project, but only two agreed to sit down with him.

"After painful reflection, I decided that I couldn't make a film of which I would be proud," wrote Ferguson. "And so I'm cancelling."

Ferguson noted that problems with sources on the project began as soon as the contract to produce the documentary with CNN was signed:

"The day after the contract was signed, I received a message from Nick Merrill, Hillary Clinton's press secretary. He already knew about the film, and clearly had a source within CNN. He interrogated me; at first I answered, but eventually I stopped. When I requested an off-the-record, private conversation with Mrs. Clinton, Merrill replied that she was busy writing her book, and not speaking to the media."

After Clinton's media fixer Phillipe Reines expressed concern over conflicts of interest around the project to Politico, CNN and Ferguson decided to publicly confirm the project, only to have the Republican National Committee vote to block CNN from hosting the 2016 GOP presidential primary debates.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said CNN showed "an obvious bias" by deciding to air a documentary on Clinton.

A Democratic National Committee spokesman said the RNC's move would only "limit the audience" of the debates, but the move may have paid off.

After David Brock posted a letter on the Democratic website "Media Matters" supporting the RNC's decision, Ferguson tried again to reach out for an interview with Clinton, and was rejected.

Ferguson then began unearthing some facts about Clinton which gradually brought him to the realization that he was going to struggle constantly to find people close to Clinton to interview about the project:

"In Arkansas, she joined the boards of Walmart and Tyson Foods. One of the largest donors to the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation is the government of Saudi Arabia. The Clintons' personal net worth now probably exceeds $200 million, and while earned legally, both the money's sources and the Clintons' public statements indicate a strong aversion to rocking boats or making powerful enemies."

But, in a statement on Monday, CNN addressed the project's cancellation, saying Ferguson "has informed us that he is not moving forward with his documentary about Hillary Clinton. Charles is an Academy Award-winning director who CNN Films was excited to be working with, but we understand and respect his decision."

CNN said they would not look for a replacement director and that they will not proceed with the film, according to USA Today.

That seems to have satisfied the RNC. The Washington Post reported the group has dropped its boycott on CNN hosting the 2016 Republican primaries.

"We are pleased that our calls and the grassroots activity have led to CNN canceling this infomercial for Hillary Clinton," said an official from the RNC.

The Committee has not wavered on its boycott of NBC, however. NBC is planning a miniseries about Clinton, with Diane Lane scheduled to play the part of the former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State.

What do you think of CNN's cancellation of the Clinton documentary? Leave a comment below.